


Hand in Hand

by silver_drip



Series: Shy!Loki Short Stories [6]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Asthma, Blushing, Human Loki, M/M, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tumblr Prompt, Vision Impaired Character, Writer, shy loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 17:06:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4884844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki's glasses get broken. Tony gives him a hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hand in Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Temul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Temul/gifts).



> Special, late bday present for you. I still haven't forgotten about your prompt! (It's stewing in my mind.) 
> 
> Inspired by [this](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/129977442629/imagine-person-a-somehow-loses-or-breaks-their) tumblr prompt.

Tony was in his incognito mode, sunglasses, baggy sweatshirt, and baseball cap. It was nice to sometimes not to be a celebrity, to take in the city without being flocked by fans.

He bought a hotdog from a local vender and even she didn’t recognize him. Of course she wasn’t really paying that much attention to him. She was just doing her job, one that she didn’t seem to enjoy at all.

Just when Tony had finished off the New York classic he spotted a tall man with dark hair and glasses. He was looking down at his shoes as he walked in the crowd of people in the crosswalk. A sharply dressed businessman on his cell phone was speed walking in the opposite direction, completely engulfed in his call.

Tony cringed as the businessman completely knocked into the bespectacled man’s shoulder, knocking him down. His glasses came flying off and the businessman didn’t even slow his strides or say sorry.

Tony physically felt sick as the glasses were smashed mercilessly beneath others feet. The knocked down individual groped blindly at the ground before his own hand was stepped on.

The crowd on the crosswalk was starting to thin and the stranger was clearly too distracted to notice.

Everyone was ignoring him. Except for a car that honked at him even though the light was still red.

Tony was pissed and quickly jogged over to the struggling man.

“Hey, the light is about to change and your glasses are broken.” The stranger looked up at him with squinted green eyes. “Do you need help?”

“Uhm, no, I—that would be—” The stranger was blushing and his breathing was starting to pick up.

More cars started honking as the light turned green and one even revved its engine. Without thinking Tony quickly grabbed the stranger’s hand and pulled him over to the sidewalk. He felt bad when the stranger stumbled over the curb.

“Fuck! Sorry. My bad.” The stranger’s breathing was only becoming more erratic. “Come on. There’s a stoop over there. Maybe you should take a seat.” The stranger nodded and there were tears in his squinted eyes. Tony had to put the stranger behind his back since the sidewalk was so crowded, still holding his hand. “I’m Tony, just so you know.”

“Loki,” he said through his gasps. Tony brushed his thumb in a soothing motion against Loki’s hand.

“Here’s the steps. If you turn around and lower yourself slowly you’ll be sitting on them.” He never let go of Tony’s hand as he sat down. Tony let out a relieved breath and sat next to him, glancing around. He saw a woman walking at a leisurely pace. “Excuse me, miss,” Tony pulled out his wallet and held out a fifty. “If you bring me a bottle of water this fifty is yours.”

She gave him a skeptical look. Tony pulled off his sunglasses and gave her a charming smile.

“Oh, yeah, definitely.” She was clearly star struck and Tony slipped his sunglasses back on as she left. “Everything is going to be alright now.”

“No—no it’s not. I can’t see and I’m having a panic attack and I think I’m having an asthma attack too and—and—” Loki groped at his pockets before pulling out an inhaler and taking a deep breath from it. He settled down a bit, but was still a complete mess. “I can’t see.” He put a hand in front of his face. “Unless something is this close I can’t see at all.” His voice was strained and face completely flushed.

Tony gripped his hand a bit tighter.

“Where were you heading? I can get you there. I was just out for a stroll anyway.” Tony really didn’t know how to handle someone who looked like he was about to break down.

“No! That’s not necessary! I can just call my brother.” Loki quickly grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and it just as quickly it slipped out of his hand and cracked on the sidewalk. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Loki put a hand over his mouth, trying to slow his breathing.

Tony grabbed the phone, relieved that his callouses kept his thumb from being cut on the sharp edge of the broken screen. He didn’t let out a sound of disappointment, not wanting to worry him anymore than he already was.

“So,” Tony hesitated, “do you know your brother’s number?” He asked while smoothing out the screen before handing Loki his phone. Loki gripped it tightly before putting it back in his pocket.

“No,” Loki whispered while putting his head between his knees.

The woman reappeared with the water bottle.

“Thank you so much.” He gave her the fifty.

“Anytime.” She shifted on her feet nervously.

“You’re a hero.” The woman looked completely taken aback and quickly scurried off with a poorly suppressed smile. “Here, Loki, try to drink some water.” Tony brought the water bottle closer to him. “It still has its cap on.”

Loki took another deep breath before sitting up. He was crying and quickly tried to wipe away his tears.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped out while squinting and grabbing the water bottle. He twisted off the top, gripping the bottle so tightly that that water gushed out. Loki cringed before bringing the bottle to his lips and drinking half of it in one go.

“No need to be sorry,” Tony said after Loki lowered the water bottle. “Shit happens to all of us.” Tony tried not to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. “Let me hail us a cab and I can get you home.”

“You already spent fifty dollars on me. I can’t—”

“It’s nothing. You need help and I can’t just leave you here.” Tony wanted to pat him on his shoulder, but wasn’t sure how he’d react.

Loki stared down at the steps, squinting at them and trying not to cry even more.

Tony held out his hand in front of Loki.

Loki stared at it for a moment before closing his bottle, wiping the water off his hand, and taking Tony’s.

“Why are you being so nice?” Loki asked softly.

“I’m actually an arrogant asshole, according to most people, but I couldn’t just pass you by.”

“Because I looked so pathetic.” Loki’s voice was just a whisper. Tony’s lips formed a hard line. He hated when people talked about themselves like that, but never knew what to say to them.

“You didn’t look pathetic, just a bit distressed. You were in danger.” Tony squeezed his hand again and prompted him to stand. He waited a moment for the crowd to thin. He walked them to the curb and Loki was still silent. “You’re a good guy. It’s easy to see that.” Tony cringed at his last sentence. It was a bit insensitive considering Loki was practically blind.

Tony hailed a cab and he could feel Loki’s palm sweating. Tony could understand that. He hated feeling helpless too.

When a cab finally pulled over Tony placed Loki’s hand on the car door’s handle and made sure he got in before going to the other side and sliding in.

Loki rambled off his address.

“What do you do for a living, Loki?” Tony asked, trying to put him more at ease. His question seemed to have the opposite effect though. Loki’s shoulders became tense and his hand balled up into a fist on top of his thigh.

“I’m a writer,” he squeaked out.

“That a tough gig.” Tony let out a low whistle of amazement. “Fiction, non-fiction, or their love child journalism?” Tony joked and was surprised when Loki’s lips curled upwards slightly. It was the first time he’d seen him grin and even with his slightly puffy eyes from crying and his bright red face he was handsome.

“Fiction.” Loki was smiling to himself.

“Is it alright if I hold your hand?” Tony asked, feeling a bit of affection for the semi-stranger. Loki somehow blushed more before holding out his hand. Tony gently took it in his own. “I know you can’t see it, but I’m grinning like a loon right now.”

“You’re very strange.”

“I prefer eccentric.” Loki’s smile grew bigger, yet was still restrained.

Tony wished he could use his physical charm on Loki, but it was almost refreshing, just having to rely on his personality.

“What do you do for work?” Loki asked softly, his eyes closed.

“I’m an inventor.” It was a bit of an understatement, but Tony was really enjoying that someone was being affected by his personality rather than just his looks or money. “We both create things from nothing.” Loki’s grin was actually showing teeth now. Pearly whites. He took care of himself.

“No one has ever put it that way before.”

“Well it’s the truth, although I guess we both probably have our muses.” Tony had many. He loved reading the scientific journals Jarvis picked out for him. Sometimes he just sat in central park and watched nature and how it functioned so well on its own. Other times it was when he was just browsing the internet and read a comment about something random that just sparked his creativity.

He hadn’t noticed that Loki had tensed up again until he glanced over at him.

“We’re almost there,” Tony reassured him.

“Oh, good.” Loki began gnawing on his lip.

“I can’t imagine being a writer, especially for a long story. I’d just get lost and I can barely manage my own life, let alone the lives of several others.”

Loki chuckled and it was the cutest thing Tony had ever heard.

“You have no idea. Continuity is probably one of the hardest parts for me. I should write more notes, but I just get so into my story that I forget to jot down important aspects that I’ll need later on! And then the stupid characters sometimes just do whatever they want.” Loki let go off Tony’s hand and he started gesturing like crazy. Tony held back his laughter. “They don’t even care about the plot! They just want to run around and—don’t get me wrong, it makes them more believable, but it’s still so annoying!” Before Loki could continue his rant the cab stopped at Loki’s address.

“We’re here,” Tony said, a smile clear in his voice. Loki let out a huff before realizing he’d been so exuberant. It was obvious that he was about to shut down. “I’m passionate about my work too. I go on work binges, sometimes falling asleep on one of my work tables or just completely forgetting to eat.” Tony took Loki’s hand again and gave it a brief squeeze.

Loki became flustered again before pulling out his wallet. He leaned forward, his nose almost brushing the partition before he swiped his credit card.

“Thank you so much. I think I can find my way from here. You already have a cab waiting and I don’t want to burden you any further.”

“It was no burden at all, you’re not a burden. Anyway, I’d really like to see this to the end, to make sure you get home alright.”

“Okay.” Loki was staring at the floor again, but was smiling.

“I’ll help you out of the car so just stay right there.” Tony stepped out before rounding the yellow cab from behind before opening Loki’s door. He held out his hand and Loki took it without hesitation. “Half a step before a curb. The sidewalks are empty. You said apartment building 308, right.”

“Yeah.” Tony glanced at Loki. He was so adorable and shy. Tony didn’t even know he liked those aspects in a potential partner until he met Loki.

But Tony didn’t even know if Loki had a preference towards men.

If only people weren’t such assholes. Then maybe people could be more open, find love easier… but Tony was being both a mixture of hopeful and naïve.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t warn Loki about the upcoming steps. Luckily he knew about them and had was already at the door, staring at the lock while trying different keys out.

“Here, let me.” Loki looked even more embarrassed as he handed over his keys.

“It should have the number 308 and the words ‘do not replicate’ engraved into it.” Tony began flipping through the various keys. Loki had a surprising amount of them. “The other one I need is 3A and it has the same warning on it.” Tony found the key and unlocked the old door. “The elevator is broken, but I—” Loki cut himself off and blushed again.

“Go ahead. I’m not judgy.”

“I know the number of steps for the flights of stairs to my apartment.”

“I know exactly how many screws I own at any given moment. I think that’s a bit weird. I started doing that in college.” Tony shrugged before remembering that Loki probably couldn’t properly see him.

He led Loki to the stairs. Loki automatically grabbed the hand railing and Tony remained silent as they ascended the stairs, not wanting to distract Loki from his counting.

Tony’s eyes gravitated to Loki’s rear. Yup, he definitely went to the gym or at least worked out at home. Why did he have to become more attractive with every passing moment?

“Please don’t be straight,” Tony whispered while looking up at the ceiling.

“Did you say something?”

“There’s 211 screws in my lab right now,” Tony said, trying to cover up his little prayer.

As they reached the third floor Tony became nervous. He wanted to ask Loki out before he knew Tony was _Tony Stark_.

“It’s this way.” Tony took Loki’s hand again, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time he was able to hold it.

“Need help finding your spare glasses or contacts?” Tony asked while opening the door.

“I have a decent idea where they are.” Tony stood in the doorway as Loki quickly went into the apartment. He hadn’t been invited in. Tony set the keys on the side table.

“Can I ask you something, something that I won’t be offended at all if you say no to.” Tony gulped, not used to being nervous.

“Yes,” Loki said, pausing in his search through a drawer. He was turned in the opposite direction and Tony felt his nerves rack up when he saw Loki’s back become tense.

“Would you like to go on a date with me this Friday night?”

Loki swung around, obviously surprised.

“A date?” Loki asked, as if he couldn’t believe what Tony had just said. He was wringing the hem of his shirt.

“I really like you and would love to take you out on a date. Something simple. Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

“Why?”

“You’re the first person I’ve wanted to go on a date in years.” Loki opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it. “If you’re straight or don’t like me in that sense it’s fine.” Tony shrugged again, wishing he could just shrug off his jitters.

“No, I like… all genders.” Tony never knew someone could blush so often.

“I’m pretty nervous over here, Loki. An answer would be appreciated.”

“Oh! Sorry! I mean yes! A date, yes!” Loki turned around quickly, knocking his hip against the side of the drawer.

Tony leaned against the doorway, feeling both relieved and giddy.

Tony heard a snapping noise and Loki turned back around, black rim glasses in their proper place. His green eyes went wide and Tony tried not to frown.

“If me being who I am changes things I understand.” Tony glanced around the apartment, not wanting to see Loki’s expression.

“No, you’re still the nicest, funniest person I’ve ever met. I was lost and you helped me. I wanted to ask you out, but I didn’t know how to and I was certain you were going to reject me and—” Loki composed himself surprisingly fast. “A date sounds great.” He cringed at his rhyme. “I mean it sounds good, no it sounds great, better than great! Why am I still talking?” Loki tried to cover his eyes and ended up smudging his glasses.

“You’re better than great. Friday at eight? I know it’s a bit late…” Loki burst out laughing and he looked positively radiant.

“Make it seven and I’ll be in heaven.”

“It would be a crime if I wasn’t right on time.” Tony winked at him. “I’ll see you then, Loki.”

“I look forward to it.”

Tony smiled. He grabbed the door handle and had to give Loki one last glance before he saw him again Friday night.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the [actual](https://www.ncbi.ie/information-for/friends-and-relatives/guiding-a-person-with-a-vision-impairment) way you're supposed to guide someone. Tony did a decent job, but the more you know... 
> 
> PS: Loki tensed up when they were talking about muses because he was embarrassed that Tony Stark is his muse and didn't want anyone to know that.


End file.
